Decided to wait until I get mine and test it before putting Dan on the spot about adjusting it.  It might be right on (If it ain't broke etc).  Good weekend for cooking coming up.

Won’t having food (or anything with mass that can retain heat) help stabilize temp fluctuations?

I was doing those measurements with an empty grill yesterday. Units will thicker steel walls and such would stabilize over time, minimizing temp fluctuations, as they absorb heat and then radiate it back I’m thinking.

With food or a bowl of water, it would do the same, correct?

I’m going to do a small 9# brisket today and will observe what happens. Hopefully the rain will be light today.


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Decided to wait until I get mine and test it before putting Dan on the spot about adjusting it.  It might be right on (If it ain't broke etc).  Good weekend for cooking coming up.

Won’t having food (or anything with mass that can retain heat) help stabilize temp fluctuations?

I was doing those measurements with an empty grill yesterday. Units will thicker steel walls and such would stabilize over time, minimizing temp fluctuations, as they absorb heat and then radiate it back I’m thinking.

With food or a bowl of water, it would do the same, correct?

I’m going to do a small 9# brisket today and will observe what happens. Hopefully the rain will be light today.


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Either food, utensils or otherwise; if the control is set at 250, and shows 250, BUT another known to be accurate thermometer placed in the actual main cooking area shows 220, (once everything has had time to absorb and radiate), then the PID is not tuned correctly for cooking at 250 at the grill surface.  A reason for this might be that the control probe sits on a side wall where it is in the flow of convection from below--it may be correctly at 250* at that spot, but that is not the temp in the actual cooking area that we all use.  So what we want to do is adjust the PID to correct for that.  On the other hand, a PID is not inherently able to determine temp, it has to be calibrated to do so. S00 it is possible also for it not to be tuned correctly to begin with.

This type of control has a simple program for setting these values (temp, pellet feed rate, fan off/on etc) and the manufacturer presets them based on prior knowledge of what is expected.  But, knowing that the final effect may be variable, the consumer (or a technician)  can adjust them for more accuracy on the job.  So bottom line for me is that I will test with oven empty, and if the temps are within 5*+- down on the grates then will be happy.  If not I will get the settings protocol and adjust for this .  From that point will use the usual means for getting good results on my cooks, knowing that the control is accurate.

There are some (like my son who is a pro) who don't worry about the above but adjust their set temps and use accurate meat probes to know when they are at the right endpoint.   If their cooker gets it done sooner or later than expected but not extremely so, it does not seem to matter. Good for them.  Guess I'm OCD.  Happy Father's Day!

Yeah, I wouldn't mess with attempting to "calibrate" as you may mess up something else.  I always test my smoker to know grate temp versus controller temp.  I then set my controller temp so it achieves desired grate temp for the cook.

Yeah, I wouldn't mess with attempting to "calibrate" as you may mess up something else.  I always test my smoker to know grate temp versus controller temp.  I then set my controller temp so it achieves desired grate temp for the cook.

Not a bad way to do it.  However, have done the procedure and it is really easy for temp adjustments.  Like I said if just a few degrees off, no need to worry.

Just checked the carrier, and the pit is now in Tulsa.  Will be delivered Monday AM

Yeah, I wouldn't mess with attempting to "calibrate" as you may mess up something else.  I always test my smoker to know grate temp versus controller temp.  I then set my controller temp so it achieves desired grate temp for the cook.

Not a bad way to do it.  However, have done the procedure and it is really easy for temp adjustments.  Like I said if just a few degrees off, no need to worry.

Just checked the carrier, and the pit is now in Tulsa.  Will be delivered Monday AM

My Memphis is less than +/- 5° grate to controller.  The MAK is usually less than +/- 10° grate to controller.  The mechanical design of your new grill looks like a cross between the two grills I have.  If they can get the electronic part to work as good as the Memphis/MAK, you won't have any problems.

Yeah, I wouldn't mess with attempting to "calibrate" as you may mess up something else.  I always test my smoker to know grate temp versus controller temp.  I then set my controller temp so it achieves desired grate temp for the cook.

Not a bad way to do it.  However, have done the procedure and it is really easy for temp adjustments.  Like I said if just a few degrees off, no need to worry.

Just checked the carrier, and the pit is now in Tulsa.  Will be delivered Monday AM

My Memphis is less than +/- 5° grate to controller.  The MAK is usually less than +/- 10° grate to controller.  The mechanical design of your new grill looks like a cross between the two grills I have.  If they can get the electronic part to work as good as the Memphis/MAK, you won't have any problems.

Well the control appears to be the newer (blue led) version of the one I have on my Blaz'n. In fact it looks identical to the controls on all the Louisiana grills. So should be no problem. (unless they are Chinese knock-offs which I doubt.) Also with regard to the comments that the controls on their pits are exposed to the elements, SNH comments that the controls have some kind of sealant cover on them to protect against the elements. I am optimistic.  Note: My intelligent hindbrain said to buy the RecTec Stampede.  The adventurous crazy animal hindbrain said to buy the SNF Eco.  Go figure. (who needs wifi?)

RanrocSmoker,  How are you doing on your cooking today?  We need input.

RanrocSmoker,  How are you doing on your cooking today?  We need input.

Ribs and brisket thrown on the grill around 12:30p today.

Spare ribs turned out fantastic! I had them on the warming rack above the brisket. Total time for them was about 6 hours. Totally succulent, nice smoke ring, smelled of Smokey goodness but I used quite a bit of rub, so I couldn’t taste the smokiness.

Brisket still cooking. Taking this one really slow and not going to wrap. Right now the color is gorgeous (using pecan pellets). I’m in no rush.

I started at 195* to ensure lots of smoke then every other hour or so bumped up. It’s now at 230*.

I have my iVation temp probe hanging from the warming rack in the center but towards the back. The temps are barely budging, no fluctuation greater than +/-5* even with all this wind (there is a difference between where it’s placed and wherever the grill’s controller is making its calculations on the display of course).

Pics to come.


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Sounds like a really good run today.  Bet your brisket turns out well. Thanks for the feedback.  Have a great father's day. 

Sounds like a really good run today.  Bet your brisket turns out well. Thanks for the feedback.  Have a great father's day. 

Houston...we have a problem!

I walked outside to bump the temp up to 240* as it was in the stall for a few hours now. A few seconds later I saw flickering orange light on the patio and smoke coming from under the auger housing. I bent over to look and saw flames coming out from above the fan and running under the auger and into the controller housing!!!

I pressed shutdown and the flames kept going because the fan was blowing in shutdown mode. I pulled the plug and a few seconds later the flames were out.

I can’t tell what damage was done as it’s too dark now. I’ve emailed the manufacturer and I’ll have to take a peek in the morning. To think, I was about to let this run all night!

The brisket is in the oven now and that’s where it will finish (currently at 225*).

I’ll send pics of what I find tomorrow.

Happy Fathers Day!!!


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Sounds like a really good run today.  Bet your brisket turns out well. Thanks for the feedback.  Have a great father's day. 

Houston...we have a problem!

I walked outside to bump the temp up to 240* as it was in the stall for a few hours now. A few seconds later I saw flickering orange light on the patio and smoke coming from under the auger housing. I bent over to look and saw flames coming out from above the fan and running under the auger and into the controller housing!!!

I pressed shutdown and the flames kept going because the fan was blowing in shutdown mode. I pulled the plug and a few seconds later the flames were out.

I can’t tell what damage was done as it’s too dark now. I’ve emailed the manufacturer and I’ll have to take a peek in the morning. To think, I was about to let this run all night!

The brisket is in the oven now and that’s where it will finish (currently at 225*).

I’ll send pics of what I find tomorrow.

Happy Fathers Day!!!


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When you pulled the plug, you said it flamed out in a few seconds. Did it smolder smoke after that?  Did you smell burning plastic as i.e. burning wiring? Sounds like an electrical fire.  Did smoke come out of the pellet hopper at any time? 
If it had been just an auger fire, you would  have smoke coming out of the hopper top. This pellet drop design is not likely to have an auger fire, especially on a low slow cook. 

Of course a grease fire could have been the cause, but it would not have gone out quickly, and you would have fire inside the unit under the drip pan.  If all was proper, you should have fat drippings in you drip pots and no charing in that area. 
Bet it was electrical but will await your eval. 
My unit is now in a Tulsa warehouse, but will consider rejecting it if the news suggests a design flaw.   

Sounds like a really good run today.  Bet your brisket turns out well. Thanks for the feedback.  Have a great father's day. 

Houston...we have a problem!

I walked outside to bump the temp up to 240* as it was in the stall for a few hours now. A few seconds later I saw flickering orange light on the patio and smoke coming from under the auger housing. I bent over to look and saw flames coming out from above the fan and running under the auger and into the controller housing!!!

I pressed shutdown and the flames kept going because the fan was blowing in shutdown mode. I pulled the plug and a few seconds later the flames were out.

I can’t tell what damage was done as it’s too dark now. I’ve emailed the manufacturer and I’ll have to take a peek in the morning. To think, I was about to let this run all night!

The brisket is in the oven now and that’s where it will finish (currently at 225*).

I’ll send pics of what I find tomorrow.

Happy Fathers Day!!!


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When you pulled the plug, you said it flamed out in a few seconds. Did it smolder smoke after that?  Did you smell burning plastic as i.e. burning wiring? Sounds like an electrical fire.  Did smoke come out of the pellet hopper at any time? 
If it had been just an auger fire, you would  have smoke coming out of the hopper top. This pellet drop design is not likely to have an auger fire, especially on a low slow cook.

Honestly it was too dark outside to tell if it smoldered at all, but I didn’t notice extra smoke after I pulled the plug. And I really couldn’t tell if there was a burnt plastic smell or not because of the smoke from the cook LOL!

No smoke out of hopper. The reason why I wanted the pellet drop design was to reduce the chance of an auger fire. I reached into the hopper and moved the pellets around. No smoke, no heat.

In the morning I’ll have a better look. From what I could see now with the light from my phone, I can’t find any visible burning of wires. In fact, these don’t look like normal plastic wires I’m used to seeing. These kind of look like the wires that temp probes are connected to for high heat except these are all painted.

The fire was reaching out from just above the fan and died as soon as the fan stopped spinning (or at least it seemed that way).


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Fire pot was in place with the door shut and latched, so no fire could have come from there and out the fan top.  No smoke from hopper, so no auger fire. No fire blazing inside under the drip assembly? I think you would have seen that, so not likely a grease fire. One quick look under the drip assembly will tell you if fire was there.
Sounds like electrical to me.
Either
1.a short circuit, or
2 perhaps the starter hot rod did not go off after the start up and burned a hole or some wires.  But why didn't the circuit board fuse blow (there is one I think 5 watt on the back of the board.)
3. some packing debris sitting on top of the fan, firebox assembly? not likely.
4. If the auger motor had failed the grill would have cooled down and shut off at a certain low temp.
5. If fan failed you would have detected that or perhaps an auger fire.  But the fan was blowing.
Hope it is a fluke and easy fix.  Let me know when you do. 

Yeah, I wouldn't mess with attempting to "calibrate" as you may mess up something else.  I always test my smoker to know grate temp versus controller temp.  I then set my controller temp so it achieves desired grate temp for the cook.

+1